WALES’ Archbishop yesterday urged fellow church leaders to make gay people feel more welcome ahead of proposed changes to the law on same-sex marriages.

Last month the UK Government launched a consultation process on whether homosexuals should have the right to be married officially.

Although the plans could still uphold a ban on same-sex couples tying the knot in churches, the issue has prompted heated arguments among clergy.

But the head of the Church in Wales Dr Barry Morgan expressed concern that gay people could be made to feel “unwelcome and uncomfortable” in churches as a result of the debate.

In his presidential address to members of the Church in Wales’ Governing Body at Llandudno’s Venue Cymru, the archbishop called on fellow Anglicans to prove that the Gospel of Jesus was “good news” for gay people.

He said: “My concern is that in any discussion which might ensue on this, gay people may once more gain the impression the Church is uncaring and unsympathetic.

“If the legislation to allow civil marriage is passed, I cannot see how we as a Church will be able to ignore the legality of the status of such partnerships and we ought not to want to do so.

“The question is, will the church protect and support pastorally faithful, stable, lifelong relationships of whatever kind in order to encourage human values such as love and fidelity? Things could be said in the coming months which I think could seriously damage people pastorally.”

The question of homosexuality and Christianity has been a thorny issue for decades. It raised its head following the announcement last month that Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams was standing down.

His tenure had been marked by a bruising war between liberals and traditionalists in the Church of England, and the wider Anglican Communion, over the issue of homosexuality.

He said: “Faith plays an incredibly important part in the lives of many Welsh lesbian, gay and bisexual people and their families. No doubt they will be pleased to hear from a church leader who so clearly wants to include them more fully in the life of his church.”

He added: “Marriage equality is an incredibly important issue for many people in Wales, including people of faith. We want to secure marriage equality without a mandate on religious groups to celebrate same-sex ceremonies, but it’s important for faiths who do want to offer those ceremonies to be able to.”

The Welsh Unitarians, Liberal Judaism and the Quakers are among faith groups who want to be able to celebrate same-sex marriages.